Panelboards are utilized as enclosures for electrical equipment, specifically for electrical circuit breakers. While such enclosures should of course be strong and durable, they must also be economical to manufacture and, for panelboards to be used where they will be visible to others besides technicians and electricians they should present a neat, pleasing appearance.
In recent years it has become more common for architects and builders to prefer panelboards which are free from protruding or even visible hardware and fasteners. Aside from aesthetic considerations--which may be quite important when the panelboard is placed where it can be readily seen, such as a school hallway or a plant cafeteria--safety is often the overriding consideration.
Many panelboards used in the past have utilized front covers (termed "trim panels" in the trade) of a type which is fastened to the underlying enclosure by means of screws or similar fasteners which extend through the exposed surface of the trim panel to engage the enclosure behind it. While this arrangement is structurally acceptable the fact that the fasteners are accessable makes it very difficult to prevent unauthorized persons from removing the panel and gaining access to the interior of the enclosure.
While such an approach is a good one several problems have been observed with such state-of-art panelboards. In some cases, with the door open it is possible to insert a wire or a thin tool into the interior of the enclosure in the vicinity of the "live" electrical parts within it. Moreover many of the clamping arrangements now utilized are awkward to install and are rather elaborate in design, thereby becoming expensive. Still further in the case of most such arrangements the fastening means used to hold the trim panel in place is located within the enclosure wherein "live" electrical parts, e.g. wiring, is located and it is possible for a loose or bent wire to become entangled and/or short circuited by the clamping means. For these reasons it will be understood that it would be highly desirable to provide an improved panelboard which is economical and simple to manufacture and install, but which precludes the penetration of objects into the enclosure and precludes the possibility of entangling the trim panel fastening means in the wiring.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a panelboard having clamping means which will not entangle or short circuit wiring.
Is another object of this invention to provide an improved panelboard assembly which prevents penetration of the inside of its enclosure.
Yet another object is to provide a panelboard with an easily utilized, economical clamping means.